 | |
| Formation | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Type | 501(c)(4)non-profit |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia |
Co-founders | Jenny Beth Martin andMark Meckler |
| Website | TeaPartyPatriots.org |
TheTea Party Patriots is an Americanconservative[1][2][3] political organization founded in 2009 as part of theTea Party movement. It is known for organizing citizen opposition to theAffordable Care Act during thepresidency of Barack Obama, and more recently for supportingDonald Trump.
In 2020, Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded the "America's Frontline Doctors" event promoting use of the drughydroxychloroquine as a cure toCOVID-19. In 2021, Tea Party Patriots was among 11 groups listed on the website of the"March to Save America", the pro-Trump rally that led to thestorming of the United States Capitol.
Rick Santelli, an editor for the CNBC Business News network, is credited as being a catalyst in the early formation of the Tea Party movement through a statement he made on February 19, 2009.[4]
The organization was founded byJenny Beth Martin,Mark Meckler, andAmy Kremer in March 2009.[5]
Tea Party Patriots was a co-sponsor of the9/12 March on Washington,[6] but refused to participate in theNational Tea Party Convention.[7] Tea Party Patriots is most notable for organizing citizen opposition at thehealthcare town hall meetings of 2009.[8]
In 2010, Tea Party Patriots was among the 12 most influential groups in the Tea Party movement according to theNational Journal,[9] and among the top five according toThe Washington Post.[10] In September 2010, the group announced it had received a $1 million donation from an anonymous donor.[11] The money was distributed to its affiliated groups and must be spent byElection Day, though it could not be used to directly support any candidate.[11] In 2010, the group reportedly included over 2,200 local chapters.[12]
In 2012, the group along with theSouthern Republican Leadership Conference organized a presidential primary debate that aired onCNN.[13]
Along with various otherconservative andlibertarian organizations the Tea Party Patriots developed aContract from America that echoed the RepublicanContract with America of 1994 stating some of the core principles and several specific goals shared by organizations and individuals involved with the tea parties.[14][failed verification]
In July 2012, the group'sAtlanta chapter partnered with theSierra Club and theNAACP to defeat a proposed transit tax in Atlanta. Thereferendum was defeated by a margin of 63 percent.[15]
Amid theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States, the Tea Party Patriots were reported to have assisted in lobbying efforts by hospitals against restrictions onelective surgeries and procedures.[2][16]
On July 27, 2020, amid theCOVID-19 pandemic, the Tea Party Patriots hosted and funded apress conference in Washington, D.C., at which they introduced "America's Frontline Doctors", a group founded bySimone Gold that promotes misleading and erroneous medical advice regarding theCOVID-19 pandemic. Video of the press conference, published byBreitbart News, was promoted byDonald Trump and viewed millions of times before it was removed byFacebook,YouTube andTwitter for spreading misinformation.[1][2][3][17][18]
The Tea Party Patriots were among 11 groups listed on the website of the March to Save America, the pro-Trump rally in 2021 that led to thestorming of the Capitol.[19]
The organization was once run with the help ofFreedomWorks, aconservative nonprofit.[20][21][22][23]
A 2011 investigation by the magazineMother Jones alleged that the Tea Party Patriots organization was using its 501(c)(4) status to avoid disclosing its expenditures both to the IRS and to local contributors. The magazine reported that when local Tea Party groups pressed for more details on the group's expenses, they were removed from the umbrella organization and threatened with legal action.[24] The magazine reported that Tea Party Patriots "has started to resemble the Beltway lobbying operations its members have denounced."[25]
In 2014,The Washington Post reported that Tea Party Patriots president Jenny Beth Martin was receiving two salaries from the organization: a $15,000 per month fee for strategic consulting and a $272,000 salary as president, with total annual compensation over $450,000.[26]
Richard Uihlein, CEO of theUline business supplies company, donated $4.3 million in the five years leading up to 2020 to theTea Party Patriots Citizens Fund, the group's political action committee.[19]
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